REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Consideration and Action on the 2024-2025 DRAFT Annual Action Plan for the Use of Federal Housing and Urban Development Grant Funds
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote and Enhance Economic, Housing and Transportation Development
BACKGROUND
As an entitlement agency, the City of Santa Clara receives annual funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the form of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funds. CDBG funds are used to provide public services to Santa Clara's low-income residents and funding for capital improvement projects. HOME funds are used for the development of affordable housing options.
HUD requires that every five years, the City, as an entitlement agency, prepare a Five-Year Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) which identifies goals and needs within the community that could be addressed through the use of HUD funding. The City's current ConPlan was prepared in 2020. HUD also requires that the City, each year, submit an Annual Action Plan (AAP). The AAP details how CDBG and HOME allocations will be used by the City to address the goals and needs identified in the City's ConPlan. The 2024-2025 AAP covers the final year of the 2020-2025 ConPlan cycle.
HUD Timeliness Test
Each year, HUD conducts a timeliness expenditure test for the CDBG program. The purpose of this test is to ensure that grantees are spending funds at a steady pace. For the last two years HUD found that the City had an excess of CDBG funds. Initially this surplus was due to the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which chilled demand for the Neighborhood Conservation & Improvement Program (NCIP) revolving home repair program. Many NCIP clients were seniors and were reluctant to have contractors working in their home during and immediately following the pandemic. With the dip in demand for the NCIP, the City issued a Notice of Fund...
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